E-Drums, anyone using?

Lextech

Well-Known Member
So is anyone using electronic drums in their musicals? If yes, what are you using? Any complaints? Anything make one stand out from another? Any problems with the set designers complaining what they look like when the band is onstage? For the scenic and lighting designers, would rather see a drum shield on a normal kit or an electronic kit which might just not fit those period pieces? Open to any and all comments, looking for what those of us not on a Broadway level show or tour are using.
 
The fksiing set and LX designer should stay in his/her/their lane and let the music director make music decisions.

That said-e drums suck and most drummers hate them. Pay the drummer enough and there will be no complaints.

Edit ps: The problems with drumming with real drums are mostly HUMAN FACTOR issues, not technical. The fix required is between the ears of the drummer and the connections to the hands, feet, and arms should take care of the rest. While putting the drummer/drums in an aquarium has a certain attraction, it's an anathema to front lighting.

If the drums are too loud, change the drummer.
 
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Youth theater. Been using electric drums for at least about 12 years now. Was a Roland kit originally, not sure if it still is now. It's been used both on and off stage. Granted, they've never been featured on stage, so there's been no complaints about aesthetics.

Unintentionally we've found ourselves with an all electronic band often. We've had ...less talented A1s forgot to unmute the band at the beginning of the overture before, but for the most part it works well for us. The entire band can practice/warm up/run songs with the house open.
 
The fksiing set and LX designer should stay in his/her/their lane and let the music director make music decisions.
I agree, however, I work in a place where the old practice of everyone having two jobs, theirs and sound, prevails. I have a space where the directors like to make my life challenging. Often we place the band onstage, and with omni lavs, I end up with multiple drum channels all at different times. And while the MD and I will push using hot rods and brushes, playing gently and the like, sometimes the song calls for the drummer to use a stick and hit the skins.

We are doing Beehive this semester and the bands onstage. Keys, guitar and bass are all going direct so I have drums, sax and trumpet to deal with. I think I have talked the director to let me use real mics for the "concert" numbers and that will solve some problems with some of the more rocking numbers, but I am exploring options.
 
I've been largely using electronic drums for musicals, especially in smaller venues for about a decade now. Not a bad idea to have your drummer(s) test drive several models before you buy (rent for shows).
There are a lot of variances, but I find it helps a LOT, especially in keeping the overall volume level down in the pit (if there is one).
The main element that you may not want to be electronic is having a "real" snare option, and perhaps some breakables (cymbals). Generally, anything can be emulated with a sufficiently well-put-together electric drum kit but this can make a huge difference, especially if the music calls for "brush work".

As to the "with a better drummer, it doesn't matter" theory, I have found it still does. And yes a drum shield can also be an option and help a fair bit. However a good drummer can control dynamics a lot better, the fact that you can gain so much headroom with electronic drums is still true.
Heck, I've even used electronic drums in the pit in large venues too to great effect.

The youth theatres I know switched to electronic a long time ago and haven't looked back too.

Really, I find you just have to look at the needs of the show, the venue, etc. Sometimes a fully real kit is great, sometimes it makes everything sound better to go digital.

The key is to really dial in the headphone mixes in the pit (personal control solutions help when available), and even using wedges I find overall volume in the pit still decreases happily and clarity often improves (in tight situations).
The other thing to keep in mind is the patches, samples, etc on the digital drum kit.
 
We switched to electronic drums a couple years back and love it. We have an actual pit, so the extra space it gives us is great. Being able to control sound much easier is a godsend. One of our 2 go-to drummers fought it a bit. But, we gave him buy in on what kit we purchased, paid both guys for some extra rehearsal time to get better acclimated, and that helped to bring him over to the dark side. We have a Roland kit with a Roland local amp for monitoring (one of their 12" 100W keyboard amps). Make the time in the schedule to test various patches to get the right sound. It makes all the difference.

~Dave
 
Last year I was hired to do the live audience mix and recording mix for a theatrical production (non Broadway), the drummer had sort of a cobbled together mish mash electronic kit comprised of two lower end Yamaha drum brains and a bunch of pads, some pads that came with the kits and some replacement pads, and an additional sample player drum pad as sort of a 3rd brain. One of the two Yamaha brains she told me was not functioning correctly so she only used it for specific sounds. The drummer was a good drummer, many years experienced, overall she did an excellent job.

The production turned out OK, but if I'm being completely honest I wasn't able to get the mix I would have liked for the production due to the lack of availability of individual drum outs. There were many times when I needed to bring up the kick or the snare in the mix and I just couldn't without also bringing up the overheads and toms (hat was on the 2nd brain). All she could give me was a stereo mix from each brain. At points I wanted to use an isolated kick drum track to duck down another buss or channel on the mix with sidechain, and that sort of processing just wasn't an option for me. So I did my best, using dynamics processing where I could. In some cases I secretly triggered alternate sounds using Slate Trigger in the final post recording. No feelings hurt, and all was well. Frankly, it could have all been a lot easier though.

If I were the one holding the pursestrings, I would spend the money on one of the upper end kits with decent sounds and individual drum outs as well as a stereo mix out (most likely a higher end V-Drum kit). The cheap kits are the worst. You may find you will never use the individual drum outs for most shows. In some cases they may be critical. In the right hands electronic drums are a life saver.

On this particular production the drummer did not need a shield, there was no issue with the look of the drums regardless of the drums being sort of a patchwork of items, the entire pit band monitored via headphones and all was fine. Stage volume in the pit and coming from the pit was nearly zero and that was helpful in so many ways. I might echo the sentiment about an optional real snare drum, or perhaps an additional real cymbal here or there - if brushes are required in any spots, it seems like it would be far easier for the drummer on an actual snare drum. This said, I am not a drummer.
 
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